PADI Divemaster

• Be certified as a PADI Advanced Diver (link) or equivalent from another organisation
• Be certified as a PADI Rescue Diver (link) or equivalent from another organisation
• Be 18 years or older
• Must have a minimum of 40 logged dives
• Be confirmed Medically fit to dive by a physician (click here for the PADI medical questionnaire)

The PADI Divemaster course schedule is difficult to precisely outline. It all depends on you individually, your circumstances and your current dive experience.

We highly recommend that you come in to our Simon's Town shop or give us a call so we can build a schedule for you.

The main factors that influence the schedule would be whether you plan to do it part time or full time. A part time PADI Divemaster course done only over weekends can take anything between 2 - 3 months. If you however plan to do it full time it can take 3 - 6 weeks.

Another factor would be your current experience level, this can only be measured once we get in the water and see how comfortable you are.

The PADI Divemaster course makes use of both the PADI Divemaster manual and the encyclopaedia of recreational diving, these are given to you at the beginning of the course.

You will need to complete the following knowledge reviews in your PADI Divemaster manual, for many of the answers you will need to refer to the encyclopaedia:

Knowledge Review 1 – The Role and Characteristics of a PADI Divemaster

Knowledge Review 2 – Supervising Diving Activities

Knowledge Review 3 – Assisting with Student Divers

Knowledge Review 4 – Diving Safety and Risk Management

Knowledge Review 5 – Divemaster-Conducted Programs

Knowledge Review 6 – Specialized Skills and Activities

Knowledge Review 7 – The Business of Diving and Your Career

Knowledge Review 8 – Awareness of the Dive Environment

Knowledge Review 9 – Dive Theory Review

Once all knowledge reviews are completed you will receive an exam that is split in to two parts, you will need to score a minimum of 75% for each part to pass the PADI Divemaster exam.

There are multiple exercises that you would need to complete during your PADI Divemaster course, all of these are will be presented the first time around by your PADI Instructor and you would need to present them at a later stage during the assessment section of the course.

You will need to demonstrate all the SCUBA & Skin Diving skills from the PADI Open Water (link) course, these include:

1. Equipment assembly, adjustment, preparation, donning and disassembly
2. Pre-dive safety check (BWRAF)
3. Deep-water entry
4. Buoyancy check at surface
5. Snorkel-regulator/regulator-snorkel exchange
6. Five-point descent
7. Regulator recovery and clearing
8. Mask removal, replacement and clearing
9. Stationary air depletion exercise and alternate air source use
10. Alternate air source-assisted ascent
11. Free-flowing regulator breathing
12. Neutral buoyancy
13. Five-point ascent
14. Controlled Emergency Swimming Ascent
15. Hover motionless for 30 seconds
16. Underwater swim without a mask
17. Remove and replace weight system underwater
18. Remove and replace scuba unit underwater
19. Remove and replace scuba unit on the surface
20. Remove and replace weight system on the surface
21. Vertical, head first skin dive
22. Swim at least 15 metres/50 feet underwater on a single breath while skin diving
23. Snorkel clear using the blast method after ascending from a skin dive
24. Snorkel clear using the displacement method after ascending from a skin dive

Dive Rescue Workshop

You will freshen up your PADI Rescue Diver skills during the workshop. You will need to show mastery in all of these.

Practical Skills

You will also need to complete some practical skills that will all be conducted with your PADI Instructor, these skills are intended to round you off as a dive professional that is comfortable in different environments.

1. Dive Site Set Up and Management
2. Mapping Project
3. Dive Briefing
4. Search & Recovery Scenario - For this we highly recommend you go the route of obtaining the full PADI Search & Recovery (Link) certification.
5. Deep Dive Scenario - Once again we would highly recommend obtaining the full PADI Deep Diver  certification.

Divemaster-Conducted Programs Workshops

By the end of these workshops you will have a clear perception of what your capabilities are as a PADI Divemaster, these are all programs that you will be able to run once you are certified.

1. Scuba Review in Confined Water
2. Skin Diver Course and Snorkelling Supervision
3. DSD Program (link) in Confined Water
4. DSD Program – Additional Open Water Dive
5. Discover Local Diving in Open Water

Once you have achieved mastery in all of the skill development workshops you will be ready to take on the final assessments. The final assessments are taken very seriously and only candidates that demonstrate all of the qualities of a professional PADI Divemaster will be certified. With this said, you will have more than one attempt at demonstrating that you successfully understand your role.

Practical Assessments

1. Open Water Diver Students in Confined Water
2. Open Water Diver Students in Open Water
3. Continuing Education Student Divers in Open Water
4. Certified Divers in Open Water

Professionalism

1. Level of active, positive participation in the training sessions
2. Ability to serve as a mentor to student divers
3. Willingness to follow directions
4. Positive attitude and demeanour toward student divers, divers and staff
5. Positive attitude and practice towards caring for the environment
6. General understanding of a Divemaster’s role
7. Appearance